Justice
by MadscientistX
Summary: Someone is hunting down mutants and one of them takes Justice into their own hands.


JUSTICE  
  
Rating: R – for violence  
  
Genre: Action  
  
Summary: A killer is hunting down the mutants. When he tries to kill one of the team members, someone takes justice into their own hands.  
  
Disclaimer: I do not own the characters of Mutant X. Tribune Entertainment owns the rights to these characters. No copyright infringement is intended.  
  
Story by: madscientistX  
  
  
  
  
  
Adam hurried into the meeting room and took his place at the head of the large gray granite table where the members of the Mutant X team were assembled. "Sorry I'm late," he said as he placed two brushed chrome suitcases on the table.  
  
"Why the sudden meeting?" Brennan asked as he played with the clicker on his pen.  
  
Adam placed his hands on the table and sighed. "Two mutants were murdered last night and three were murdered this morning. They were shot to death." The room was completely silent as the team absorbed the shocking news. Adam stood up straight and rubbed his hand over his forehead.  
  
"Do you think Eckhart is behind this?" Emma asked.  
  
"Hard to say for sure but I doubt it. This is pretty cold. Just doesn't seem like his style." Adam unlocked both suitcases and then opened the lids. He took a deep breath before he spoke. "I really wish I didn't have to do this but I feel that I have no choice." He reached inside one of the suitcases and pulled out a 44 Magnum, holding it up for all of them to see. Their eyes grew wide at the sight. "I'm giving one of these to each of you." He glanced at his watch quickly. "In a few minutes we'll be heading over to the training area for a quick brush up on handling one of these things. For safety reasons none of them are loaded right now."  
  
Adam went around the room and placed a gun on the table in front of each of them. Jesse picked his up and looked it over while Emma just stared as hers as it lay on the table in front of her. "I…I can't use this," she said with a stutter.  
  
Adam put a comforting hand on her shoulder as he stood behind her. "It's okay, Emma. Hopefully you won't have to use it." He returned to the head of the table and shut the lids of the suitcases, snapping the locks shut. "You all know how I feel about weapons. I wouldn't do this if I didn't feel it was extremely necessary." He looked at his watch again. "Let's get to the training area and then try and get back to our daily routine." They all filed along behind him, each carrying their new gun.  
  
  
  
After their training session had ended they were each given their choice of holsters. Jesse and Brennan joked about the side holsters and pretended they were Butch Cassidy. "Stop it!" Emma yelled. "This isn't a joke!" Her eyes were brimming with tears.  
  
Shalimar put her arm around Emma to comfort her, "Don't pay any attention to them. It's going to be okay."  
  
Brennan put his gun and holster down and gave Emma a hug. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to upset you."  
  
"Me either," Jesse said sheepishly as he stood behind Brennan.  
  
Emma started to cry as she pulled away from Brennan's embrace, "I don't want to die."  
  
Brennan stroked her hair, "You're not going to die. We're going to keep an eye on you. Don't you worry."  
  
"Why does someone have to do this?" Emma asked as she wiped the tears away.  
  
"Because Eckhart is a sick bastard, that's why," Jesse said as he sat down on a near-by chair.  
  
"I dunno about that. I'm with Adam, I don't think he's got anything to do with this," Shalimar chimed in.  
  
Jesse shook his head. "Come on. He wants us all dead and you know it."  
  
"True, he does. But I don't think he'd do it this way. Like Adam said, this is cold. Eckhart wants to capture us so he can feel good about himself and feel like he's accomplished something. This is too cold, even for Eckhart." Shalimar tucked her gun away in the small of her back and pulled her shirt over it as she walked away.  
  
  
  
LATER THAT NIGHT  
  
  
  
Shalimar parked her car in front of a pizza place a few blocks from her house. She got out and made her way inside. "Hey Shal!" one of the older guys yelled from behind the counter.  
  
"Gino! How are you?" she smiled.  
  
"I'm so much better now that you're here." He grinned ear to ear as he slid a pizza box over to her.  
  
"You're too sweet," she said as she took the box and then handed him the money.  
  
He held up his hand, "No, no. This one's on me. Enjoy!"  
  
She leaned over and gave him a kiss on the cheek. "Thank you," she whispered to him.  
  
His face turned red with embarrassment. "Have yourself a good night."  
  
"You too," she said as she turned and walked out of the store. She got into the car, and tossed the pizza box on the passenger side seat. She didn't care about grease leaking all over the place because she considered her car a shitbox. She loved her bike more than the car; there was no doubt about that. But it had been raining that morning so she had to take the car.  
  
When she arrived home she set the pizza box down on the kitchen table along with her car keys. She sat down and immediately felt the gun digging into her back. "Ugh, this stupid thing," she huffed as she pulled it out of the waistband of her pants. She got up and brought the gun into her bedroom and placed it in the top drawer of her dresser, covering it with some clothes.  
  
She made her way back to the kitchen where she got herself a can of diet soda. After flipping the top she took a sip and then grabbed the pizza box as she headed into the living room. She plunked herself down on the sofa and turned the TV on. The channels flipped around as she channel surfed. As she sat there eating her pizza the lights and TV suddenly went off. She put her pizza slice down and looked around the room. Just as she was about to get up the lights and TV went back on. She breathed a sigh of relief and continued watch TV. After about a half hour she fell asleep.  
  
  
  
Shalimar bolted upright at the sound of the phone ringing. It took her a moment to get her bearings as she fumbled for the phone near the sofa. "Hello?"  
  
"Shal, it's me, Brennan."  
  
"What time is it?"  
  
"It's about one o'clock. Listen, someone tried to attack Emma last night."  
  
"What?!?" she gasped, "Is she okay? What happened?"  
  
"She's fine, just a little shaken up. I'm over at her place right now."  
  
"Give me twenty minutes and I'll be over." Shalimar just hung up the phone and dashed into the bathroom for a quick shower.  
  
  
  
Shalimar arrived at Emma's apartment building and parked her bike on the side of the building where Emma's landlord had cleared a space for her. She dashed upstairs and knocked on the door. Jesse opened the door and Shalimar pushed past him, heading over to the chair where Emma was sitting sipping a cup of tea. She threw her arms around Emma, "You okay?"  
  
"Yeah. I'm okay."  
  
Shalimar eased away from her and looked her up and down. "You're not hurt are you?"  
  
"No, I'm fine."  
  
"What happened?" Shalimar asked as she looked at Brennan and then at Emma.  
  
"I walked down to the store on the corner to get the newspaper and on my way back someone jumped me. They had their hand over my mouth and held a gun to my side but I was able to take control of his mind and scare him off."  
  
Shalimar knelt down next to Emma, "Where did he go to?"  
  
"I dunno. I was just glad he ran away."  
  
"He dropped his gun," Jesse said, "I brought it to Adam. He ran it for prints but wasn't able to get anything more than a partial."  
  
"A partial is better than nothing," Shalimar said as she stood up. "Have you eaten anything, Emma?"  
  
Emma shook her head, "No. I'm not hungry."  
  
Shalimar took her leather jacket off and tossed it onto the sofa. "I'll make you something. You want anything guys?" Both of them shook their heads. "Oh come on. I'm not a bad cook."  
  
"Right, whatever," Jesse said as he started chuckling. Shalimar shot him a look. "Just kidding. Actually Brennan and I were going to take off. That is if you don't mind sticking around with Emma for a little while."  
  
"No, not at all. I'll see you guys on Monday. Thanks for watching over her."  
  
"No problem," Brennan said as he gave Emma a kiss on the forehead. "Get some rest."  
  
Emma nodded, "Thanks, Brennan."  
  
Jesse gave her a kiss as well. I'll call you later, okay?"  
  
"Okay. Thank you."  
  
Brennan and Jesse left and Shalimar came back out into the living room. "You sure you're okay?"  
  
Emma put her cup down on the end table. "Yes. You don't have to. I'm fine. Really."  
  
"I don't mind hanging out. That is, if you don't mind me hanging out."  
  
"No, I don't mind," Emma said with a smile.  
  
"Good because I thought we could just sit here and watch movies all day and talk shit about the guys. You know…girl stuff."  
  
"Cool," Emma said as she lay down on the sofa. Deep down inside she really didn't want to be alone. "Hey Shal?"  
  
"Yeah?"  
  
"Thanks."  
  
Shalimar smiled at her, "You're welcome." She then disappeared into the kitchen to fix breakfast.  
  
  
  
LATER THAT NIGHT  
  
  
  
Shalimar glanced at her watch and realized it was getting late. After watching all of those movies they both lost track of time. "I guess I better head home," she said as she got up and grabbed her jacket, putting it on.  
  
"Thanks again for hanging out with me. I feel a lot better."  
  
"You gonna be okay alone here tonight?"  
  
"Yeah, yeah I'm good."  
  
"Okay. Call if you need me. I'll see ya Monday." Shalimar headed outside to her bike and was soon on her way home.  
  
She noticed there weren't many cars on the road, one of the good things about a weekend night. She hated bumper-to-bumper traffic so she welcomed the change.  
  
As she drove along a straightaway she suddenly felt a sharp, burning pain in her left shoulder as if she'd been punched hard, the force knocked her back a bit. Just as she looked down towards her shoulder, the back tire of her bike blew out, sending her down to the pavement. The bike fell to the side, her left getting leg pinned under it. She skidded along the pavement and flipped along with her bike and soon came to a stop lying on her back. She brought both hands up to get her helmet off but felt immediate pain in her left shoulder and left arm, so she left it on. She took a moment and waited for the pain to subside, and to come to her senses, before trying to get up. She didn't realize how long she'd been lying there. Time seemed to stand still. She managed to get herself to her knees and that's when she noticed the blood. It was on the road, on her pants and on her jacket. She took her gloved hand away from her shoulder and unzipped her jacket to get a better look. "Shit!" she said through gritted teeth as she saw the bullet wound, suddenly realizing she was the killer's next target. She quickly got to her feet did the best she could to run towards a near-by parking lot that still had a few cars in it, even at this late hour.  
  
As she made her way to one of the cars a shot rang out and shattered the side window of the car. Glass flew in the air and then rained upon the pavement. Shalimar dove onto the hood, slid across it and landed hard on the ground, grimacing in pain, cursing. She crawled along the ground and hid behind another car, breathing heavily. Looking across the lot she saw two boxcars sitting by an old set of train tracks that ran behind the parking lot. Could she make it to them, she thought to herself. She didn't have much a choice. It was either stay put and be shot to death or try and make a run for it.  
  
Checking her surroundings, she didn't see anyone, not that it mattered because she knew he was out there somewhere. She took a deep breath and then ran for her life towards one of the boxcars. The rusty door of one of the boxcars was partially open so she squeezed herself inside and collapsed onto the floor, breathing heavily again from running and the pain that coursed through her body. She leaned against the wall of the boxcar, took her right hand and pulled off her helmet, tossing it aside. She clutched her shoulder and held her left arm against her stomach. She knew her arm was broken but wasn't sure how bad. She reached into her jacket and pulled out her cellphone but there wasn't much left of it. The faceplate was cracked, the glass screen was smashed and some of the numbers on the keypad were gone. Then she remembered her Comlink ring. Placing the fingertips of her right hand glove between her teeth, she pulled off her glove. Just as she was about to speak into the ring she heard gunshots and bullets hitting the side of the boxcar. She slid to the ground and brought the ring up to her mouth. "Adam," she whispered.  
  
"Come out, come out wherever you are!" she heard a man's voice say from outside of the boxcar, sending chills down her spine.  
  
"Shalimar?" Adam's voice came from the ring.  
  
"Adam, thank God. I'm in trouble," she said in a heavy breath, "Someone's shooting at me."  
  
She could hear the man's voice getting closer, "Come out, mutant!" More shots rang out and a few bullets pierced through the rusted metal of the boxcar and landed by her feet.  
  
"Where are you?" Adam asked.  
  
"Near the tracks in a boxcar. Near the old cement factory."  
  
"I'm on my way."  
  
"Hurry," she said in a low, desperate voice just as the man barged his way into the boxcar. A beam of light streamed into the boxcar from the parking lot lights and cast an eerie glow around the man.  
  
"Well, well, well. Looks like I've found myself a mutant." He trained his gun on her as he took out a flashlight and shined it in her face, causing her to shield her eyes with her right hand. He noted the wound in her shoulder. "Aww, looks like you've lost your freakish mutant powers cuz you're bleeding like a stuck pig." He moved closer to her and she tried to inch away from him. "Come on. Show me how you automatically heal yourself like magic, you freak. Or show me how your head spins," he said as he kicked her in the ribs. She rolled into a ball, hugging her ribs, coughing. "You're all no good. I don't want my kids growing up around things like you. Hell, you're apt to kill them in one of your bizarre ritual things or something." He took his foot and rolled her onto her back then placed his boot over the wound in her shoulder, pressing down on it.  
  
"Stop!" she cried out. She grabbed his leg with her right hand and tried to get his foot to ease up.  
  
He cocked the gun, "Make me, freak."  
  
Her eyes suddenly became yellow and she felt a small burst of energy flow through her body. She pulled at his leg, causing him to fall to the floor on his back. The gun went off as he went down, shooting a hole in the ceiling of the boxcar, bits of rust rained down. She tried to get up but the flash of energy was gone, her eyes were brown again.  
  
The man got back to his feet and grabbed his gun, holding it on her once again. "So you're this cat or something, huh freak? Well, I don't like cats, never did." He cocked the gun and was just about to shoot at her when suddenly a bolt of lightning hit the man and sent him flying across the boxcar. Brennan entered the car and continued zapping the man with bolts until Adam stopped him.  
  
Shalimar collapsed and passed out just as Adam dashed to her side. He checked for a pulse and found a weak one. "We have to get her to the medical unit fast."  
  
Jesse entered the car and placed some weird handcuff-like bracelets on the man's wrists and began dragging him out of the boxcar.  
  
Brennan grabbed Shalimar's legs while Adam got her shoulders, being as careful as he could of her wound. "Lift on three. One…two…three." As they hoisted her up a quiet moan escaped from her.  
  
They got her out of the boxcar and headed to the van that was parked in the lot. Emma popped the back open as they approached. She covered her mouth at the sight of Shalimar's limp form. "Oh my God. Is she okay?"  
  
"Not really," Adam said. They eased her into the back of the van, Adam and Emma climbed in the back with her as Brennan slid behind the wheel.  
  
Jesse tossed the man roughly into the back of the detainment van and sped off behind Brennan.  
  
Adam turned on the overhead light in the back of the van and Emma gasped at the sight of all the blood coming from the bullet wound. "I think I'm gonna be sick."  
  
Adam didn't pay much attention to Emma and focused all his attention on Shalimar. He felt around her ribcage and heard another moan from her when he hit a certain spot. "Sorry, Shalimar. Hang in there, kiddo." Her leather pants were ripped by her left knee and he could see a nasty case of road rash from where she had slid on the pavement.  
  
They arrived at the headquarters and immediately rushed her to the medical area. They got her onto a table and Adam quickly slid an I.V. needle into her arm as Brennan put an oxygen mask over her mouth. Adam unzipped her jacket and with Brennan's help they were able to get it off of her. Jesse and Emma waited outside and just looked on helplessly.  
  
Adam rolled her onto her right side and inspected her back for an exit wound. "Dammit. No exit." He laid her back down on her back. "Set up for a body scan."  
  
Brennan ran over to one of the machines along the wall and pressed some buttons. Adam moved away from Shalimar as a large scanner came down from the ceiling towards Shalimar's head. It stopped inches above her and scanned the length of her body then retreated back up into the ceiling.  
  
Adam looked at a near-by monitor and tapped his finger on the glass. "There. There it is!" he gasped. "It's near her shoulder blade." Let's get her on her stomach."  
  
Brennan helped him roll Shalimar over. Adam ran over to another machine, pushing all kinds of buttons. "Cut her shirt off." Without hesitation Brennan did what he was told. Adam then returned to her side and draped a green paper-like blanket over her back then cut out a four-inch square around the area where the bullet was located. He then injected her I.V. with some medication and then returned to the machine. "Okay. Here goes." He pushed a red button and a thin, metal pipe came down from the ceiling. It hovered above Shalimar's shoulder and then a small scalpel came out. The scalpel came down and began cutting into Shalimar's back. After it was done it went back inside the pipe and another device came out. It went into the open wound on Shalimar's back and slowly came out with the bullet on the end of it. Adam walked over to it and pulled the bullet off of the tip and the device went up into the pipe. A laser beam came out and sewed up the wound within a matter of seconds.  
  
"Let's roll her back over." Brennan helped Adam roll her onto her back. Adam placed another piece of that paper-like blanket over her and cut a square around the entrance wound. They backed away and let the laser beam sew the hole.  
  
The smell of burning flesh made Brennan want to gag but he did his best not to show how much it made him want to puke. He looked at Shalimar's face, how pale she looked. Her blood was all over the floor and the table. He wanted to take her in his arms and hold her in the worst way.  
  
As the metal pipe made it's way back into the ceiling, Adam was busy clicking more buttons on the machines. "There's no sign of infection and the bullet was in one piece. Her arm is broken, her ribs and her left knee are badly bruised. I'm programming a blood transfusion right now. She's going to be okay," Adam said as he turned towards Brennan smiling.  
  
Brennan breathed a sigh of relief as he leaned in towards Shalimar, "You hear that, Shal? You're gonna be okay." He gave her a kiss on her forehead and then left the room to get cleaned up.  
  
Emma ran up to him, anxious to know how Shalimar was. "Is she…is she okay?"  
  
"She's gonna be fine," he said with a smile. "Where's Jesse?"  
  
"He went to go get her bike."  
  
"I'm gonna go get cleaned up. This has been one hell of a night," he said as he walked away.  
  
Emma got up and peeked in at Adam standing next to Shalimar. It was the first time she'd seen him cry.  
  
  
  
Brennan came downstairs after his shower and found Jesse and Emma just staring at Shalimar's bike that was lying on the floor. There was nothing left of the back tire, the paint on the left side was almost completely scraped off, the headlight was smashed the kick stand was hanging off and that was only the half of it. "Damn. That thing is wrecked."  
  
"That bastard shot the back tire out," Jesse said as he squatted down and pointed at a bullet hole in the tire. He stood back up. "I can get it fixed though."  
  
"What?" Brennan exclaimed. "This thing is a mess."  
  
"I have a friend that is a miracle worker with bikes. He owes me some big time favors. This bike means a lot to Shalimar. We can't just trash it."  
  
Adam entered the room and felt his stomach drop when he got a good look at the bike. "Gee. It didn't look as bad in the dark."  
  
"I was just telling Brennan and Emma, I have a friend that can fix this. You'll never know it looked like this."  
  
"I dunno," Adam said.  
  
Jesse picked the bike up and started wheeling it out of the room, "Tell Shalimar I'll be by to see her tomorrow. I'm gonna go drop the bike off. Don't say a word to her about this, I want to surprise her."  
  
They all shook their heads as Jesse left the room. "Why don't you two get some rest," Adam said as he put a hand on their backs.  
  
"Good idea. Tell Shal I'll be by tomorrow too," Emma said as she patted Adam on the back.  
  
"I'm actually gonna hang around here tonight. I'll probably crash in one of the rooms upstairs or something."  
  
"Okay but please get some rest," Emma instructed him. She gave him a kiss on the cheek before heading out.  
  
Adam shook Brennan's hand. "Thanks for your help in there."  
  
"You did all the work," he said, modestly.  
  
"Yes, but you kept your cool in there and helped get it done. Thank you. And I'm sure she thanks you too."  
  
Brennan smiled. "Well, I'm gonna head upstairs and watch some TV or something."  
  
Adam watched him walk away and knew very well how Brennan felt about Shalimar. It was obvious the way he looked at her. Adam flashed to memories of Brennan and Shalimar poking fun at each other and joking around. Their flirtatious looks and smiles. Then he decided he too needed some rest.  
  
  
  
The next morning Brennan was the first to visit Shalimar. He slowly and quietly entered her room, watching her still form, listening to the heart monitor beeping her heart rhythm. Her color had come back and she looked warm, not the cold pale like she did the night before.  
  
He took a seat next to her and rubbed her right arm. "Hey Shal. You awake?" He waited for a moment but her eyes remained closed. "You scared the shit out of me last night. I'm not scared of many things but that definitely ranks as number one on my short list."  
  
He chuckled a bit and then noticed her begin to stir. Her eyes began to open and she looked at him as she struggled to focus. "Brennan?" she said weakly.  
  
"Hey," he said as he took her hand in his.  
  
She clenched her jaw as she felt the pain kick up in her shoulder and everywhere else. "You get the guy?"  
  
Brennan nodded. "Yeah, we got him."  
  
"Is he dead?"  
  
"No."  
  
"Good. Because I want to be the one to kill him."  
  
"Shal, don't think about that right now. We'll talk about this when you're feeling better and feeling stronger. Now's not the time."  
  
Before Shalimar could argue, Jesse and Emma entered the room. "How are you feeling?" Emma asked as she pulled up a chair.  
  
"Very sore. Remind me never to get shot again." She smiled and the rest of them smiled back. "Where's my bike?"  
  
Emma and Brennan looked at Jesse. He then turned to Shalimar. "Um, your bike. Well, it…"  
  
"It's probably junk. Right?" The tone in Shalimar's voice was one of disappointment.  
  
"I wouldn't say 'junk'. Maybe just a little banged up," Emma said.  
  
"A lot banged up, really," Jesse said.  
  
"I can only imagine what it looks like," Shalimar said before some of the pain flowed through her. She steeled herself against it as it passed. "I remember going down after he shot out the back tire. I slid across the ground and it started flipping, taking me with it. My arm got pinned under it at one point." She stopped again as more pain came.  
  
"That's enough for now. We better let you rest," Brennan said as he stood up.  
  
Shalimar grabbed at Brennan's arm, "No. Stay."  
  
"You need your rest. If we stay here you'll never get any sleep." Brennan rubbed her hand as he looked at her. "Please." Shalimar rolled her eyes and nodded. "Good girl. Besides, if Adam sees us all hanging around in here he'll have our heads."  
  
"You really think I'd do that to you guys?" Adam said as he walked in the room.  
  
Brennan whipped around. "Adam. I ah, umm."  
  
Adam put up a hand gesturing for no explanation of what he had just caught him saying. Brennan moved towards the end of Shalimar's bed so that Adam could get close to her. "How are you?"  
  
"Sore. My whole body hurts."  
  
Adam checked her vitals on the machines by the bed. "You're doing remarkably well. I took a scan during the night to check on your mutant abilities. I wasn't sure how they'd react to such trauma."  
  
"And," Shalimar said with a look of concern.  
  
"Everything looks okay, don't worry." He smiled at her as he kissed the back of her hand.  
  
Brennan looked on and couldn't help but feel a little jealous. He could see Adam developing a crush on Shalimar, judging by the way he talked to her, looked at her and sometimes went out of his way to do things for her. "Um, I think we're all gonna take off for a while," Brennan said as he looked at Jesse and Emma. "We'll come by and see you a little later." He patted her leg gently and smiled.  
  
"Thanks you guys," Shalimar whispered quietly.  
  
Adam stayed with her for a little while until she fell asleep. Then he sat there and watched her sleep. So many times he wanted to tell her how he really felt about her but he knew a relationship between them wouldn't be possible. Seeing her hurt broke his heart but made him love her even more.  
  
  
  
A WEEK LATER  
  
Shalimar was eager to get out and walk around. Adam hadn't let her go very far, just around the room and into the next. He was afraid she'd fall since her knee was giving her trouble, so he kept a close eye on her.  
  
As she stood by the side of the bed, doing her best to put on a sweat jacket one-handed, Adam walked by. "Need help?"  
  
"Nah. I got it. I've gutta learn to do these things at some point." After a little bit of a struggle she finally managed to get it on and zip it, partially.  
  
Adam looked at his watch, "It's getting pretty late. Shouldn't you be asleep by now?"  
  
"That's all I've done for the past week is rest. I was just gonna watch some TV and then maybe read for a little while." She looked down and noticed a briefcase in his hand. "You going somewhere?"  
  
He looked down at the case and back at her. "I just got a call from a lab in Detroit. They want to meet with me first thing in the morning to discuss some new antibody technology that we might be interested in. I should be back by tomorrow night though." He watched her carefully as she got herself back into bed, "You okay?"  
  
"Yeah, why?"  
  
Adam smiled a bit, "I dunno. You seem a little pre-occupied."  
  
Shalimar's stomach dropped a bit and almost felt as if "guilty" was written across her forehead. "No," she stammered. "I'm fine." She lied. She'd planned all week for this night and didn't want to blow it.  
  
"Okay. Just making sure." He turned towards the door, "Now get some rest. I'll see you tomorrow." He disappeared down the hallway.  
  
She listened to the silence in the room and around the building. It was a Sunday night, which meant that no one was around, except for a few security personnel. She got back to her feet and slipped on her black sneakers. Reaching between the mattresses she pulled out one of Adam's security clearance cards and tucked it in her back pocket. She limped a bit to the door and scanned the area to see if anyone was around. All clear. Her first stop was the computer room, which controlled virtually everything in the buildings, including the security systems and video monitors.  
  
She slipped into the room and hacked into the mainframe. She found the links she needed and disarmed the alarms with ease. After logging out she headed down the hallway.  
  
A large metal door greeted her at the end of the hallway. She looked all around to make sure no one was coming and then pulled out the security card, swiping it through the machine on the side of the door. After a few seconds the machine beeped and she heard the lock click open. She went inside and passed a few shelves full of various tools and weapons and then stopped at a stack of brushed chrome suitcases. She flipped the locks on one of the cases and reached inside, pulling out a black handgun. She looked it over and then reached inside again, this time pulling out a silencer. She screwed the silencer on the barrel of the gun and then tucked it in the small of her back. She put the suitcase back and left the room, on her way to her next destination.  
  
After a few minutes of walking down a series of hallways, she slowly came upon a corner. Looking up, she saw a security camera pointed in her direction. When she was in the computer room she had programmed a video feed that would give her a sixty second cover, enough for her to get down the hall and into the last room on the left.  
  
She looked at her watch and then limped quickly down the hall and got to the room. She swiped the card in the machine on the wall. "Come on, come on," she mumbled to herself as she waited for it to beep, signaling clearance. Finally it beeped and the door unlocked.  
  
She stepped inside the dark room and eased the door shut behind her. She came to a set of steel bars that blocked her from going any further. Looking to her left she spotted another security machine so she scanned the card through. After a few seconds it beeped and the bars rose up towards the ceiling. She flipped the light switch that was near the box and the room lit up.  
  
A man lying on a cot rubbed his eyes from the glare of the lights, "Hey. What's the big idea?"  
  
Shalimar moved closer to the man and then stopped a few feet away. All the while she wore a sarcastic look on her face. "What's the matter? Don't like a little light in your eyes?"  
  
The man sat on the cot still rubbing his eyes as they slowly came into focus. Then it hit him. He stopped rubbing and looked straight at her. "You? What the hell do YOU want? You come back for more? Cuz I've got all the time in the world to give it to you?" he laughed.  
  
Shalimar laughed and then pulled the gun out from behind her back and aimed it at him. "So do I."  
  
The man slowly held up his hands in front of him. "Look, don't be mad. You're mad aren't you?" he toyed with her. She didn't answer him, just stared him down. "Listen, would it make you feel any better if I said you weren't the first freak I tried to kill." The man started laughing.  
  
Shalimar's brow creased and she fired off a shot that hit him in the stomach. He fell to the floor on his knees, hugging his stomach. "You…you bitch!" he spat.  
  
"Aw, I'm sorry. Does that hurt? It must because you're bleeding like a stuck pig." She walked towards him and watched as he continued to writhe in pain.  
  
"You'll pay for this, I swear," he said through gritted teeth.  
  
She aimed the gun at his head. "Save it for someone who cares." She was just about to pull the trigger when the man lunged at her, tackling her to the ground like an NFL linebacker. The gun slipped from her hand and skidded across the floor. He got some punches in to her already sore ribs and to her face. She kicked at him and managed to knee him where it counts, sending him backwards, gripping his crotch. She seized the opportunity and crawled across the floor to get the gun. When she turned around he was starting to make his way towards her so she fired at him, hitting him square in the chest. He stumbled back and she began to flash back to the night in the boxcar when he'd pinned her down with his boot. She shot again, and then again until the man lay motionless in a pool of his own blood.  
  
She breathed heavily as she got to her feet, her ribs aching in protest of the movement. She went over to the wall and swiped the card through the machine, sending the steel bars back down from the ceiling. The clunked to a stop and she stared at the man through the bars. Then she turned off the light and made her way back to the weapons closet to get some materials to clean the gun.  
  
  
  
After she had cleaned the gun, set it back in it's case and then re- programmed the security system to the way it was, she made her way back to her room. She limped into the bathroom, flipped on the light and immediately saw her bloodied face in the mirror. "Oh shit." She took a good look and saw a cut to the side of her right eye that was bleeding at a good clip. She grabbed the hand towel, wet it and wiped some of the blood from her face. Satisfied with the clean up she eased herself onto the bed. Her ribs were aching something fierce so she tried to lie as still as possible. Her shoulder didn't feel any better either but she just shut her eyes and tried not to think about the pain. After a few moments, she fell asleep.  
  
  
  
She awoke with a start when she felt someone shaking her and calling her name. "Shal? Shal wake up."  
  
"Brennan," she said as she became aware of her surroundings.  
  
"What the hell happened to your face?" he asked as he wiped some dried blood from her face.  
  
She put her hand to her head and felt the small cut that had now closed. "I um, I fell. I got up last night to walk around and I fell." She swung her legs over and started to get up but winced as her ribs and shoulder protested.  
  
Brennan noticed her pain and put a hand on her back. "You okay?" Shalimar nodded but he wasn't buying it. He helped her get her sweat jacket off and then lifted up the side of her t-shirt to take a peek at her ribs. "Dammit, Shalimar. How hard did you fall?" Her ribs were almost black they were so bruised.  
  
"I just fell right over there by the doorway. Tripped over my own feet." She laughed a bit, hoping he'd believe her.  
  
He took a seat next to her, "Adam's not going to be happy with you."  
  
"It was an accident!"  
  
Brennan sighed. "He'll have to check you all out when he gets back."  
  
"I'm fine. Really."  
  
"You don't look fine," he said motioning to her ribs.  
  
"It's nothing. Just a little set back."  
  
He got up from the bed. "Why don't you get cleaned up and I'll meet you in the rec room in about an hour."  
  
Shalimar smiled. "See ya there." She watched as he left the room and her smile faded. How long would she be able to lie? She hated lying and wasn't good at it. But this time she had to be.  
  
  
  
Just as she stepped out of the shower she heard Brennan calling for her frantically. "Shalimar! Shalimar!"  
  
"I'm just getting dressed, hang on! Where's the fire!" she yelled back at him.  
  
Brennan went up to the bathroom door to yell through it. "Well hurry up! They just found your attacker dead in his holding room."  
  
She knew it was coming but still wasn't prepared to hear it. "What?!?" she yelled, trying to sound convincing.  
  
"They went to bring him breakfast and they found him dead. Shot to death."  
  
She got dressed and then opened the bathroom door. "I can't say that I feel bad for him," she said as she took off the plastic bag around her casted arm that protected it from getting wet in the shower.  
  
Brennan just looked at her. "I don't feel sorry either but Adam is going to have a fit when he gets back here in a few hours."  
  
Shalimar started combing her wet hair and shook it out a bit. "Where did they take him? I want to see that he's dead with my own two eyes."  
  
"They left him in the holding room until Adam gets back. You're not going down there."  
  
"Watch me, after I dry my hair we'll walk over there." She turned and walked back into the bathroom and shut the door. Leaning against it she took a deep breath and let it out slowly. Brennan was right, Adam was going to be pissed when he got back and would certainly investigate to find out who killed the guy. She had thought of this the night before but just didn't care.  
  
  
  
Adam returned around one o'clock and judging by the look on his face he already knew what happened that morning. The team was assembled in the rec room. Jesse and Brennan were playing video games while Emma and Shalimar sat quietly on the black leather couch. "Shalimar?" He immediately noticed the cut near her eye and knelt down before her to examine it. "What happened?"  
  
"I fell," she responded quietly. "I was walking around my room and tripped. I hit my head on the edge of the bed."  
  
Adam continued to examine her, "Did you blackout at all?"  
  
"No. I'm fine. Just a little bump." Shalimar looked over at Brennan who was looking at her. He pointed to his ribs, signaling that he wanted her to tell Adam about her sore ribs. She didn't want to tell Adam so she said nothing.  
  
Adam got back to his feet, sighing. "Come on. Let's get you back to your room." Adam helped her up and began to escort her out of the room. Before leaving he turned to the rest of the team, "I'll see all of you in the conference room in five minutes."  
  
Adam took Shalimar back to her room while Jesse, Brennan and Emma made their way to the conference room to wait for Adam.  
  
  
  
When Adam got Shalimar to her room he helped her back onto the bed, noticing her hugging her ribs more than she had before. "You sure you're okay?"  
  
"Adam. I'm fine."  
  
Adam put up his hands. "Okay, just checking. Let me know if you need anything. I should be back in about fifteen minutes or so."  
  
"Actually, what I'd really like is to go home where I can sleep in my own bed. Be comfortable in my own surroundings." She looked at him intently, hoping he would immediately say yes.  
  
"I don't think that's a good idea at this point. I mean, you've already fallen and hurt yourself. What if you go home and something happens. Who will be there to help you?"  
  
"Adam, I can't stay here forever. I'm a big girl."  
  
"Shalimar, you got shot AND you fell off your bike. It's not as if you just got a paper cut or something."  
  
Shalimar placed her hand on his. "I know you're concerned for my well- being and I sincerely appreciate it. But I would really like to go home."  
  
Adam thought about it for a moment. "Two more days. Stay here for two more days and then if all is going well then…you can go home."  
  
Shalimar smiled at him. "Deal."  
  
He smiled back at her. "I'll be in after the meeting and you and I will discuss what happened this morning. I would have had you come into the conference room with us but I'd rather you stay in bed."  
  
Shalimar thought she was off the hook, but not quite. "Okay. You know where to find me." She half smiled as he got up and headed out the door.  
  
  
  
Adam got the to conference room and found the team sitting in silence. He closed the door behind him and took his seat at the front of the table. "As you all know, the man we brought in that shot Shalimar, and perhaps killed those other mutants, was killed this morning. They found him dead in his holding room." Adam looked around at each team member. "Anyone care to share their thoughts?" The room was silent. "Nothing? None of you have any thoughts on it?"  
  
"You mean like one if us is supposed to care?" Brennan said. Adam looked directly at him and let him speak. "Because if we're SUPPOSED to care then I guess I'm cold-hearted because I don't. He almost killed Shalimar and most likely he killed the others. And he attacked Emma."  
  
"We don't know for sure that he killed the others," Adam noted.  
  
"Bullshit. You know and I know he did. I don't see any other mutant murders happening since this bastard's been thrown in that cell." Brennan could feel the anger brewing inside him.  
  
"We only got a partial print on the gun found at the scene of Emma's attack. Although there were similar print patterns we…"  
  
"Alright then," Brennan cut him off.  
  
"It wasn't proof, Brennan." Adam continued to look Brennan square in the eye.  
  
"Why are you defending him? Didn't Shalimar tell you how he treated her in that boxcar? Apparently not because maybe you wouldn't be so quick to feel so much empathy for the asshole."  
  
"I'm not defending him. I don't believe in killing. Yes, this man committed a horrible crime and yes, the man has probably killed before. But killing this man doesn't solve anything."  
  
"Actually it does solve something, Adam," Jesse piped in. "It puts an end to the killings of innocent mutants." Brennan looked at Jesse and felt like hugging him for what he had just said.  
  
Adam looked at Emma. "Emma. Do you have anything you would like to add?"  
  
Emma felt like a deer in headlights and wasn't sure whether she wanted to get involved. But this was her family and she felt she had to speak her mind. "I honestly can't say that I feel sorry that this man is dead. I would never wish death on anyone but this man didn't deserve to go on living amongst us after doing what he did."  
  
Adam slid back in his chair. "Well, I appreciate your honesty everyone. I just hope that whoever killed this man can live with that on their conscience."  
  
Brennan looked at Jesse and Emma and then back at Adam. "Are you trying to say that you think one of us did it?"  
  
Adam hesitated. "I'm not saying that at all. Although it's clear that someone here in this building is guilty, that's obvious. But we have no proof of who did it."  
  
Brennan flashed back for a moment at when he was trying to wake Shalimar up and blood was all over her face. Then he flashed to him asking her about her injured ribs. Could she have killed him, he thought. Then he zoned back to Adam's conversation.  
  
"Thank you all again for your honesty. I know this has been a tough week. Hopefully we can put it all behind us." Adam stood up and left the room as the others began to get up as well.  
  
Adam headed back to Shalimar's room and found her reading a book. He knocked on the door quietly. She looked up at him. "Come on in. How'd the meeting go?"  
  
He closed the door behind him and then took a seat next to her on the bed. "It went okay. I had asked them how they felt about what had happened this morning. I got the answers I expected. I would ask you the same question but I already know the answer." Shalimar looked at him but didn't say a word. "In fact, I have a feeling you might feel a little different about what had happened to that man."  
  
"What do you mean?"  
  
Adam reached over and lifted the side of her shirt a little, exposing her badly bruised ribs. He winced and pointed to them, "These weren't as bruised yesterday. I noticed when I brought you back here that you were in pain, more pain than you were yesterday."  
  
"I told you I fell. I…"  
  
He put up a hand. "You don't have to lie to me." Adam looked at her and saw a tear fall from her eye. "I know what really happened." Shalimar put her head down. He put his hand under her chin and lifted her head gently.  
  
"I had to. It just wasn't fair what he did to me. To the others." Shalimar began to cry and that hurt her ribs.  
  
Adam did his best to gather her in his arms to comfort her without hurting her. "There is no proof that you did it and we're going to keep it that way," he whispered to her.  
  
She stopped crying for a moment and looked up at him. "What?"  
  
"I'm out-numbered."  
  
As she wiped the tears away she looked at him, puzzled. "What do you mean?"  
  
"There's not one person around here that didn't want to see that man dead, besides me. Even if there is someone that saw you do it they're not going to say anything. The men in security were practically cheering down there."  
  
"I know you don't like killing. But he was killing us all, one by one. I got lucky, but what if I wasn't so lucky? If I were dead he'd go onto the next mutant in his path. That could have been you or Jesse or Brennan. Hell, he already tried to kill Emma."  
  
Adam knew she was right and didn't offer any of his philosophical wisdom. He kissed her forehead as he got up, "It's over. Let's just try and move on."  
  
Shalimar watched him as he headed for the door. "I'll be back in a half hour to bring you to the lab. I want to scan those ribs of yours and make sure there's no new damage. I'll go warm up the machines."  
  
"Adam," she called out to him. He turned back and faced her. "Thank you," she said softly. He smiled and walked out the door.  
  
  
  
FOUR DAYS LATER  
  
Adam had finally let Shalimar go home. As she sat on the sofa she heard the doorbell. "Who is it?" she yelled as she slowly got to her feet and made her way to the door.  
  
"It's me and Jesse." Brennan's voice boomed through the hallway.  
  
She opened the door and the both of them hugged her at the same time, being careful not to squeeze her too tight. "What brings you two here?"  
  
"We wanted to show you something," Jesse motioned towards the elevator, "Come downstairs with us."  
  
Shalimar looked at Brennan hesitantly, "Is this one of your weird joke things?"  
  
Brennan laughed and began to lead her towards the elevator, "No, no. Nothing like that."  
  
They got downstairs and lead her outside to the front of the apartment building. "Close your eyes," Brennan said as Jesse disappeared around the corner of the building. She closed her eyes and listened as she heard the two of them whispering about something. "Okay. Open them."  
  
She opened her eyes and there stood her bike. Her eyes grew wide as she walked up to it and looked it over. "Where'd you get it? It's just like the one I had."  
  
"This is the one you had," Jesse said with a huge smile. "We got it fixed for you."  
  
Shalimar looked at Jesse and Brennan, "How?"  
  
"I have a friend that's into bikes. He and his buddies fixed it up."  
  
Shalimar continued to look it all over and was amazed at what she saw. "They even got the ding out of the front fender. I took my first spill about a month after I bought it, dented the fender right there."  
  
"That ding was nothing compared to what it looked like a week ago," Jesse said and then realized maybe he shouldn't have said it.  
  
"Was it that bad?"  
  
Brennan reached into his jacket and pulled out a photo envelope, handing it to her. "These are before and after photos they took as they fixed it. You don't have to look at them now."  
  
"No, I want to," she said as she held the envelope. "Let's go back upstairs. You guys want a beer or something?"  
  
"I could go for a beer," Jesse said as he moved away from the bike and followed Brennan and Shalimar back into the building.  
  
When they got back to her apartment she took a seat at the kitchen table, placing the envelope in front of her. "Help yourselves to whatever I've got in the fridge."  
  
Jesse grabbed a beer for himself and one for Brennan and took a seat next to Shalimar. "Brennan's right. You don't have to look at them now."  
  
"It's okay," she said as she slid the photos out of the envelope and then glanced at the first one. She put her hand to her mouth in disbelief. "Oh my God," was all she could say. She continued flipping through the photos and was amazed at amount of work they did. But at the same time she couldn't help but remember that night.  
  
After she had looked at the last photo she put the photos back into the envelope and wiped a tear from her eye. "Sorry," she giggled, "It's just that…this bike is such a part of me. Thank you so much for knowing that and getting it fixed for me." She turned and gave Jesse a kiss on the cheek but turned to Brennan and gave him a kiss on his lips.  
  
He was shocked and just looked at her as she eased away. "You sure Adam didn't give you too much medication?" he joked.  
  
She smiled at him. "Nope. It's not the medication that made me do that."  
  
"Um, hello. Hello, third wheel over here," Jesse said as he got up. "I think I'm gonna leave you two alone. I know when to take a cue." He pushed his chair in towards the table. "I'm glad to see you're feeling better, Shal."  
  
Brennan and Shalimar didn't try and stop him from leaving. "Thanks Jesse. And I want to be sure to meet these buddies of yours. I owe them a huge thank you too."  
  
"You bet. Maybe some time next week. I'll catch you two later. Behave yourselves," he said as he opened the door and then shut it behind him.  
  
Shalimar looked at Brennan as she took his hand, "In case I haven't said it already, or said it enough, thank you."  
  
"For?"  
  
"For saving my life," she said with a catch in her voice.  
  
"Adam did all the work, I was just taking his orders. You should be thanking him."  
  
"I did but I want to thank you too. He couldn't have done it all himself. So…thank you." She leaned towards him and kissed him again. He responded by putting his arms around her waist and rubbing her a little. She broke the kiss as she hissed in pain.  
  
"Did I hurt you? I'm sorry."  
  
"It's okay. My ribs are still sore."  
  
"I'm sorry. Maybe we should continue this later then." He smiled at her as he wiped her hair away from her eye.  
  
She smiled back at him, "I've got all the time in the world now thanks to you." 


End file.
